


Communicator

by JustAnotherObsessedFangirl



Series: Billy Batson finding family (unrelated one-shots) [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Shazam! | Captain Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Bat Family, Canon-Typical Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-17 06:47:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17555393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherObsessedFangirl/pseuds/JustAnotherObsessedFangirl
Summary: When Billy Batson was sent to live with his mean Uncle he was sent to Gotham, were his Uncle had moved not long before they died, when his Uncle kicked him out Billy ended in on Crime Alley, still becoming Cap and one day running into Red Hood.





	Communicator

**Disclaimer: I don’t own anything you recognise.**

**Billy POV**

When my parents died I was sent to live with my Uncle E, who had moved to Gotham not long before they died, so after he got their money he drove me to Crime Alley and left me there.

It was hard at first, I was 5 years old, had no money and no idea how to care for myself. But I also had what my parents taught me and I promised myself I wouldn’t let myself go bad on the streets.

I got lucky on my third day in the Alley when a woman who owned a pizza place gave me leftovers and told me to come back again the next day for more. After another week she offered me a job (no one in the Alley really cares about working age laws,) she gave me a kid bike and pizza, making me a part time delivery boy.

Delivering food was good, I found great places to hide my bike, (so no one would steal it) earned some money and got something to eat, it was so good I got two more food delivery jobs (but always refused  illegal jobs that people wanted me to do like drug running or messages for bad guys and anything that involved gangs.)

I went to the Wayne Foundation public ‘library’ everyday, it wasn’t really a library of course, everyone knew that. Mr Wayne had apparently had it built after he had adopted a Crime Alley kid who tried to steal his tires, as well has a bunch of other places all to help the people on the streets get themselves off the streets, cause he learned from his son just how broken the system is and that most of us living on the streets have no were to go and don’t trust the foster system to help us and need to be able to help ourselves. Take the library it’s really a school, but cause they say it’s a library they don’t legally have to report all the homeless kids that go there.

Since they don’t report us to the cop’s kids are happy to go and get a free education, they even do some higher degrees for the older people, plus help getting jobs outside the alley. The library is a promise of escape one day.

When I was 7, after 2 years on the street’s things changed, I had gone to the old subway to get my bike from where I’d hidden it, when I found myself in a cave and face to face with a Wizard called Shazam.

He told me I had a pure heart and offered me a chance to help people and be a hero.

I said yes and he turned me into Captain Marvel, giving me the power to really help people.

But right away I knew I couldn’t be a hero in Gotham, it is the Batman’s town and there’s no way they’d stand for a powered hero in Gotham, so I decided on Fawcett City, it’s were I lived with my parents, they have super villains but no heroes. It was the perfect place to start as a hero.  
But not somewhere I could live. Gotham is my home, I’ll fully admit it’s a cesspool but its also my home and even if I wanted to I don’t think I could ever leave Gotham for good.

A year after becoming a hero I joined the Justice League, which was just the coolest thing! And got to work with heroes that I look up to and became friends with them.

 

“Billy” I blink away the thoughts of the past when Alex, a 11-year-old street kid walks up to me.

“Hey Alex” I smile at the year older boy, “What’s up?”

“Have you seen Micky?” He asks worriedly, “He said he was gonna meet me three hours ago but never showed.”

“Haven’t seen him” I speak, feeling worried, “If he doesn’t show back up that will be the 30th in in the last two months” I speak my thoughts, a lot of street kids and been disappearing, 30 that we know of, but there could be more, this is bad.

“Yeah” Alex agrees, looking grim.

“Maybe its time to get some help” I suggest.

He snorts, “What the cops? The pigs won’t do shit about this.”

I nod, the gangs push what good cops there are in Gotham out of the Alley, plus I heard the other day the whole Bat-Clan is dealing with something involving the League Of Shadows, I try not to do anything hero related in Gotham to avoid the attention, but I don’t see any other options here. “I’ll figure something out” I tell Alex, walking away, “See you later!”

I go straight to people I know around the Alley, finding out everything I can about crime that’s been going on in Gotham in the last two months, which is _a lot_ over 300 murders, four serial killers, 47 super villain plots, 28 gang related shootings, over 50 missing people, 14 police/bat drug busts, more pick pocketing, muggings and rapes than can be counted. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg of Gotham crime, but while looking one thing did catch my eye, a new unknown source of Meth.

I may not be the world’s greatest detective, but I’ve picked up a few things about detective work over my 3 years as a hero and how to track bad guys and figure out villain plots, so looking at it I think the unknown source of meth is a good place to start, meth is dangerous to make, kidnapping kids and forcing them to do it seems possible and with the kind of demand in Gotham they’d need a lot of kids to make it, it may be a long shot but hopefully I’m right and they are alive and can be saved.

To do that I need to find out where they are making the meth and keeping the kids.

To do that I look at victimology, all the kids lived on the street, talking to people who know them reveals they were all on the _streets_ , lots of us find empty buildings ‘owned’ by gangs who make us do things for them in exchange for sleeping there at night, others like me get lucky and find somewhere not owned by gangs and live there, but the ones who aren’t lucky or willing to work for gangs end up in cardboard boxes in alleyways and that is were all the kids who disappeared were, living on the streets, easy pickings for bad guys.

 

It may be a dumb idea but there’s no way for me to watch the whole alley by myself for next kidnapping, but I’m the guys type, young street kid. So my dumb idea is to be my own bait, move out of my hidden subway room for a while and stay on the street, then see what fish bite.

Its only 3 night in that I wake up to being thrown over someone’s shoulder and carried away.

“Hey let me go!” I yell at him, hitting and kicking, as is expected of a kidnapped kid but I don’t put up anywhere near as much fight as I’m capable of (the Justice League requires all powered heroes to be able to fight without their abilities and I talked Nightwing and Canary, who were teaching me to teach me like I’m the little guy as well as the big guy, using a story of a past giant alien attack for why someone over 6 foot would need to know that,) he stops and ties my hands and feet before picking me up and taking me down into the sewers.

We go through a maze of tunnels that this guy knows like the back of his hand, until we get to a tunnel full of alligators and crocodiles.

He pushes me to the ground next to a big alligator, which snaps its teeth at me, “Here’s the deal kid” he says, speaking for the first time, after untying me “You work for me now, down here I am king and you will do us your king commands. You will never make a sound, you will not go against what I say, you will learn to work in the lab and when I trust you enough you will have earned time away from the lab were you will go to the surface and act as a pick pocket, if you disappoint me” all the alligators and crocodiles growl threateningly and he smirks, “You’ll find out my pets listen to me more than the average dog listens to their owner.”

The door unlocks and Killer Croc steps out with a blank look on his face.

I blink, he is some kind of Meta that controls alligators and crocodiles and his powers extends to man croc’s. This is very bad.

“Take him to a room with the others” the meta orders.

Killer Croc picks me up and takes me to another locked room and throws me in.

“Billy!”

I turn my head. “Micky!” its Micky and 10 other kids, “Are you all okay? Where are the others?”

“The lab” a dark haired girl frowns darkly.

“This place is what Sewer King calls training, but its just him screaming at us to be quiet and do what he says” Micky tells me, clearly leaving out details and giving the impression that its more than just screaming.

“Sewer King?” I question.

“Micky shrugs, “Needed something to call him and he likes to say he’s a king down here.”

“Micky” the dark haired girl speaks, “Hurry up with the intro, the leprechauns will be back soon.”

“Leprechauns?” I question.

“What we become down here” Micky frowns, “They’ll kids who’ve been here longer and the rules have stuck with, none of them talk and they all wear these green cloaks and get to go up to pick pockets in the nicer parts of Gotham and always come back down here.”

“Meaning they’re all nuts” the dark haired girl puts in.

“They’re not nuts” I disagree, “I think its brainwashing or something like that” they’ve been here so long they’re to scared to break his rules, no matter how far away they get.

I need to get everyone out of here, but I can’t use my powers with all these kids around, let alone call for them. I have to do this as Billy Batson.

Its just Sewer King really, take him down and Killer Croc won’t do anything he says, but he will also be free to hurt all the kids and we’ll be surrounded by wild uncontrolled animals, so I can’t just knock him out and run………what if.

I look down to my pocket were I know my League communicator is, it won’t work down here to call for help, but I remember Flash saying they installed some new tech in them recently that stops mind control, it’s a huge risk but if I can get it on Killer Croc he’ll be free………. I look to the other kids, “I have a really bad idea.”

“We’ve had a few of those, lets hear yours” Micky shrugs.

I take out my com, “I……found this a while back, it’s a Justice League communicator, it won’t work underground like this, but it stops mind control from working, if I get it on Killer Croc he’ll be free and can take on Sewer King while we run.”

“That is the worst plan I’ve ever hear!” the dark haired girl announces, “Killer Croc is a super villain. What if you free him and he just kills all of us and leaves?”

“He won’t” I tell her firmly, “He’s the bad guy but some else used him. All I need to do is point him in the right direction.”

She rolls her eyes, “Your nuts!” then she and the others walk over to a corner, “You try it and get yourself killed, we’ll be over here away from your crazy.”

“Sometimes crazy is the only way” I tell her, speaking from experience, a lot of the time it’s the insane plans that work over the normal way, some times when fighting weird you have to think weird.

 

Only a few minutes later the door opens and a line of scared kids in green cloaks walk in, with Killer Croc holding the door open.

Once the kids are at a safe distance I jump up at Croc and kick him in the head, then punch him a few times, he moves back, not expecting the attack, I take the moment to jump up like Nightwing taught me and flip so I’m high enough up to grab his head and put the com on his ear.

He blinks before his eyes turn to were I’m sitting on his shoulder, “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Billy” I wave climbing down his arm and back to the ground, “It’s a long story but you were being mind controlled by this guy Sewer King, helping him keep us down here and cook up meth, that thing I put on your ear stops him from controlling you.”

“Thanks kid” he nods, “What do you want? People always want something?”

“I wanna get the other kids out of here” I speak immediately, “I get if you don’t wanna help you may not care, which is fine, but you are kinda one of the main things stopping us from going, so if you don’t wanna help just not killing any one I’m trying to save is what I want, if your happy to help keeping Sewer King busy or the alligators and crocodiles he controls  would be really helpful.”

He glares, “He’s using croc’s?”

“Yes” I agree.

“How do I free them” he asks angrily, “Got anymore of these things?” he motions to his ear.

I shake my head, “I only have the one, I umm found that after a JL fight, its one of their coms and blocks mind control……. But I guess if you knock Sewer King out the alligators and crocodiles will be free but they’ll attack the kids I’m trying to help.”

“They won’t” he nods, “They listen to me. They won’t hurt the kids if I say so.”

“Okay” I nod before looking the shocked looking kids, surprised that Killer Croc didn’t kill me. “You know the way out right?” I ask a green cloak, “He can’t hurt you once you’re out” I promise.

The green cloaked kid nods, looking a little scared.

“Its okay I’ll be with you” I promise, before looking to Croc, “Do you remember if there are any more rooms full of kids?”

He nods, “Two more, the ones either side of this one.”

“Okay” I nod, moving past him taking his keys and unlocking the doors, calling prison break into each room, making kids rush out of the rooms.

Killer Croc, leaves, turning to the left while we go right and up following the green cloaked kids to the surface, coming up in the middle of Crime Alley.

I help the kids up and call some of the news places, telling them the basics of what happened, (if they know what happened to these kids then good people like the Wayne’s will find out and pay for their therapy and get the green cloaks all the help they need in talking again and coming to terms with what happened.)

 

Then I go back down, planning to get my com back, there’s no way I can explain Killer Croc getting my com without Bats finding out and getting sent to foster care or the Titans.

I run back through the tunnels until I find Killer Croc with out cold alligators and crocodiles all around him and holding Sewer King by the neck, “I don’t like shits like you controlling me. For that you die.”

I don’t think, I run up behind him and up his back, on to his shoulder taking the com off Killer Croc’s ear, surprising him enough that he lets go of Sewer King’s neck, I then twist around and kick Sewer King in the face, sending him hard into a wall, knocking him out.

Croc roars and throws me off him, I flip mid throw like Nightwing taught me to slow down and land in a crouch when thrown, which I do only stumbling a little.

“Why the fuck did you do that kid” he growls, moving towards me with his claws out and ready.

“You were going to kill him” I reply nervously, knowing I can’t use my powers down here (the lighting would hit the road above, not me,) and he is a big killer croc man. What am I going to do? “He is a bad guy but that doesn’t mean you get to kill him, he needs to go to jail.”

Killer Croc snorts a laugh, “What’s this huh? Your Robin audition speech? I don’t give a shit what he did to any of those street rats, he messed with me, people who mess with me die” he smirks at his claws, “And your messing with me now.”

He runs at me, swiping his claws out, I duck down, and his claws mark the wall behind were my head was.

Blinking scared I put the com in my pocket and slide under Killer Croc and past him, pausing to grab Sewer King, I leave him here he gets killed. I throw him over my shoulder’s wincing at the weight of the grown-up on my 10-year-old shoulders, really wishing I could turn into cap, but pushing that away and running, trying to get away from the crocodile man.

I run out of the room as fast as I can, hitting the wall on my left side but keep running trying to reach the ladder I came down from, with Killer Croc on my heels, swiping his claws out, trying to kill me and the guy I’m carrying.

I keep running down the tunnels, not hitting every wall thankfully but still hitting a few while Croc is hitting all of them and roaring angrily.

I keep going until I see the ladder and stop, tying Sewer King’s arms together around my neck as fast as I can so I have my hands and use then to start climbing as fast as I can, hearing the roar right behind me.

Thankfully the manhole cover is still off, so I throw myself out, landing on the man I pulled out.  
“You alright?” a concerned voice asks.

I look at and see all the police and reporters around. “Killer Croc is right behind me” I tell the cop, who I think is Commissioner Jim Gordon.

His eyes widen and before he can say anything Killer Croc comes up roaring.

Before he can make a move 5 bat-shaped darts hit him in the chest.

“Goddam Bats” he roars before falling over, out cold.

I breath a relieved sigh and look to Gordon, “This is the bad guy who had everyone down there” I say gesturing to the guy tied to my neck, “He can control alligators and crocodiles, Killer Croc included, which is why he was after us.”

A couple cops come over and take Sewer King away, while a few dozen come for Killer Croc.

“Nice job kid” Gordon smiles, “The other kids told me you’re the one that got them out, using JL tech, Batman wants that back by the way.”

"I don't have it" I lie, hating that I'm being dishonest, "I think it got broken in the tunnels somewhere."

"Sure" he says, not believing me "Come on, lets get you some medical attention" he leans me to a ambulance, were I notice for the first time the deep claw marks on my back and legs, must of got me a few times when I was running and climbing, thankfully I've still got a lot of adrenaline in me, but I know from experience its going to hurt a lot soon.

 

I let the medic treat my legs, but when she moves away to get more bandages I run for it and go to my hidden room in the old subway and stitch it up myself with a needle and mirror, I'm not going to risk a nightmare foster home for some professional stitches and pain killers, I'll stick to ibuprofen, supermarket medical supplies and the League medical training (which did include how to stitch up any part of your own body.)

"Need a hand?" I jump hearing a voice in my room, digging the needle in to far, "Oww!" I wince, then look over to the door and see Red Hood.

"Sorry kid, didn't mean to scare you" he apologises, the helmet looking at my chest were a few scars from living on the street are visible but I know that's not what he's looking at, he sees the Lichtenberg figure scars that cover my chest (I got them when I got my powers, thankfully though I don't get other scars from hero time,) "Need a hand with stitching your back?" he offers.

I only hesitate for a moment before nodding, everyone around here knows Red Hood stands with street kids and prostitutes, plus he's been back with the Batfamily for 3 years and as far as we know hasn't killed in 4 years.

He takes the needle and starts working on my back.

"You're here for the com" I say, knowing that's why the bats would come looking for me as me.

"Yep" he agrees, "Dear Dad sent us all looking for you after you gave the medics the slip, he doesn't like people who aren't with us having our tech, plus he wants to know where you got it."

I go to open my mouth but can't come up with a story the bats would believe.

"Unless it's yours" Hood speaks, sounding thoughtful. "You got all those kids out of there by yourself within 5 minutes of getting there, got Killer Croc not to hurt anyone then took down two super villains basically by yourself. And you seem to have been hit by lightning sometime in oh... I'd say the last four years."

Bats get trained so well in deductive thinking.

"Captain Marvel?" He guesses, probably going by the heroes identities he knows and the ones he doesn't that involve lightning powers.

"Yeah" I nod, wincing slightly when the needle comes out.

"So why are you in Gotham? Shouldn't you be back in Fawcett saving kittens from trees or you know living on the streets there?"

I sigh, no getting out of this "My parents died when I was 5, I was sent here to Gotham to live with a uncle, but he kicked me out as soon as he got their money, when I got my powers I knew Batman wouldn't want a powered hero in his city so I decided to work we're I lived before my parents died. This is my home."

He doesn't ask why I never left Crime Alley for good, if the rumours are true he's from here too, he knows why.

He finishes up on my back and moves to sit in front of me, "You know the League won't let you keep living by yourself, right?"

"Yeah" I nod, "I'm going to get kicked out of the League, put in Foster care and sent to join the teen Titans."

"Got something against the Titans?" He raises an eyebrow under the domino mask, having taken off the helmet "Cause my big brother founded it and my little one lends it now, so I should be offended on their behalf or something but I can't blame you if you hate those goody goodies too, I sure do. Once spent two years trying to take them all down as Red X, God that was fun."

I raise an eyebrow at that but can't help a small laugh, "Yeah I'm sure trying to kill your brother and his friends was a blast, but no I don't hate then. I just... I like my team, I love working with the League when they find out I'm 10 they'll kick me out and treat me like a little kid."

He frowns thoughtfully, "I bet I can talk the big bad bat into not telling, if anyone's okay with 10-year olds fighting super villains it him" he jokes (was that a joke or just a fact?) "You'll still going to get picked off the streets though."

"Yeah, I know" I agree, resigned to ending up in Gotham's nightmare foster system. But at least I won't be kick out of the League, that's definitely a good thing.

"It’s not so bad” he shrugs, “Okay yeah most foster homes in Gotham are shit, but there are some good people.”

“I don’t think I’ll get lucky enough to get picked up by a super hero that dresses like a bat” I reply, guesses he and the other bat-kids are foster/adopted, (they all have different skin tones and accents, so either Batman has met a lot of woman while travelling or he takes kids in.)

Hood smirks, “You’re a good thinker, most people just assume he’s our bio dad and don’t look at the obvious, have any detective training?”

“I went to that 101 class Red Robin and Nightwing had for any heroes that wanted to go last year” I laugh a little and he joins me, they only got through 20 minutes of basic stuff before Robin appeared to ‘help’, insulted Red Robin in everyway possible then spent the rest of the hour watching and laughing with the other heroes as Nightwing tried to stop them from maiming each other.

He stops laughing a touches his ear, “Yeah B I found him…………no it’s a bit more complicated than take the com and interrogate…………..well for one thing Dickwing _its_ his com, he didn’t steal it or find it or whatever else your thinking………….Yep he’s Cap, got it in one O…………yes Batdad I’m not gonna let him stay on the streets, gonna take him to Gordon first, he does still wanna talk to the kid who freed 45 prisoners, shut down a meth lab and took down two villains in less than an hour right? On that front we’re gonna need a cover story for how a 10-year-old Crime Alley kid and can do that” he looks to me and mouths ‘pack up your shit.’

I put my shirt back on and do what he says, getting everything I need in my backpack in under 2 minutes then follow him out of my room and to his motorbike.

He takes me to the Precinct roof where Gordon is waiting.

“Hood” Gordon nods, “I see you found him” he smiles to me, “Hello son, I have a few questions I need to ask you.”

I nod, looking to the ground and Red Hood pats my shoulder, “Don’t worry kid. It will be okay” with one more pat he disappears and I tell Gordon the edited version Hood went over with me on the way here.

After Gordon takes me down stairs were a exhausted social worker is on the phone and 24 kids who look familiar, (yeah I think Sewer King had them) are sitting around bored.

“Miss Andrews” Gordon speaks once she is done with her call, “This is Billy, he was in the sewers as well.”

She nods and hands me some paper, “Okay I’m sorry I don’t have time right now to chat with you Billy, I’m looking for homes for everyone. Could you fill this out and when I get a chance I’ll talk to you about were you’ll be going” she speaks with a kind smile even through she is clearly exhausted.

“Okay thank you Miss Andrews” I smile moving to a seat to fill this out.

 

I end up sitting there all night while the group of kids slowly gets smaller and Miss Andrews looks more and more like she’s going to collapse.

After another phone call she walks over to me, “Good news Billy. Someone saw what happened in the news and has offered to foster you” she smiles, “Now he doesn’t have a fostering license himself but has agreed to stay with his adoptive father who does until the paper work goes through.”

I nod back, she with over 40 kids they must be running out of places to put all of us, I should be thankful she found anywhere for me at all, after all from what I’ve heard when they don’t have enough homes here in Gotham they send all the kids off to Juvey. “Thank you for working so hard Miss Andrews, to help all of us not us me.”

She looks surprised I said that but smiles, “Your welcome Billy” then she goes back to her phone/search for families.  

An hour later she goes to greet whoever it is, with paperwork before bringing him back

When the two men follow her back I can’t help my surprise at seeing Bruce Wayne and Jason Todd-Wayne walk up to me.

“Billy” Miss Andrews smiles, “This is Jason Todd-Wayne and his father Bruce Wayne. You’ll be staying with Mr Todd-Wayne now.”

Of course I know who they both are, there isn’t anyone in Gotham who doesn’t know who the members of the Wayne family are, they’re always in the news, Jason really made the news when he came back from the dead two years ago, after spending over 10 years travelling around pretending to be dead to mess with his father, according to the news anyway.

I smile hesitantly and put out a hand to shake, which he does “Okay, ummmm nice to meet you Mr Todd-Wayne.”

“Call me Jason kid” he says in a _very_ familiar voice, like one that I heard only a few hours ago, he winks.

I smile back and follow him outside, waving goodbye and thanks to Miss Andrews and to their car.

“Why?” I ask as soon as the car is moving.

Jason looks to his Dad with a smile, “You don’t always plan these things.”

Bruce smiles back, “I didn’t, not with any of my children but sometimes you just know.”

“At least that’s part of the dramatic ‘you should take this kid In’ speech Dad gave me” Jason smirks.

“This……..is going to be very weird isn’t it?” I smile, looking forward to being a bat.

“Yes, yes it is” Jason says seriously before grinning.

 

**ONE-SHOT.**


End file.
